Three convicts executed in Belarus in one day

Three death row inmates are believed to have been executed in Belarus in one day.

Ivan Kulesh, Syarhey Khmyalewski and Henadz Yakavitski are thought to have been executed on November 5, Andrey Paluda, a coordinator of a group called “Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty in Belarus,” told BelaPAN on Thursday.

“There is still no information about another death row inmate, Syarhey Vostrykaw, but I think we will get it in the next few days,” Mr. Paluda said.

The execution of Ivan Kulesh, a 29-year-old man who was found guilty of murdering three saleswomen, became known on November 28.

The execution of Syarhey Khmyalewski, a 33-year-old man who was found guilty of murdering three people, became known the following day.

It became known on December 1 that Henadz Yakavitski, a 60-year-old man found guilty of brutally murdering his common-law wife, had also been executed. On that day, Mr. Yakavitski’s relatives received a letter from the Minsk Regional Court saying that the man was executed on November 5.

The executions have been condemned by the European Union and the International Federation for Human Rights.

More than 400 people have been sentenced to death and executed in Belarus since the country acquired independence in 1991. Alyaksandr Lukashenka is known to have pardoned only one death row inmate.